Contemplation
by ChaosCarlos
Summary: Darth Vader contemplates the possible origins and signifigance of Luke Skywalker.


Disclaimer: I own nothing. Star Wars is the property of George Lucas and 20th Century Fox.

* * *

Vader was staring out of the foward window of the Executor's bridge, thoughts coursing through his mind, thoughts of a name he had long believed to be dead that now manage to find their way to haunt him once more. He dipped his head to re-read the datapad in his hands. 

_Rebel Interrogation Report:_

_Rebel: Solus Kemrae_

_Race: Human_

_Homeworld: Naboo_

_Information obtained from interrogation:_

_Rebel smuggling ship to pass kessel in three days_

_Possible rebel base location - Corellia_

_Name of rebel that destroyed Death Star - Luke Skywalker_

_Knew of two rebel spies within imperial navy - Identities Unknown_

_Conspired in the assasination of Admiral Persus_

_Had intimate knowledge of current imperial codes_

All other matters on the list paled in signifigance to the name of the rebel who'd destroyed the Emperor's so called, '_crown jewel'_. It was impossible, he remembered when he was younger that he'd ran a search for any other Skywalker's and finding only himself and his mother. Apparently the name had been in decline for centuries and had finally come down to only two in the whole galaxy, mother and son.

Vader shook his head angrily. '_No! I am not that weak being anymore! I am Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith!'_ But he couldn't deny the results of that search from so many years ago, not to mention that after his mother's death he had finally become the last. But now it seemed another bore the name _Skywalker_. However that was not all, the rebel also went by the name Luke. He and Padme had always concidered Luke to be a good strong name for a boy, enough so that she had made him swear on his honour that if they were to have a boy that he would be named Luke.

The datapad in his hands suddenly without the aid of any physical force was crushed and compacted into a small lump of mass. Vader would have prefered to have killed one of his underlings but even that wouldn't have made him feel better over this. He needed to clear his head, there were too many questions, too many possibilities. He needed to find a root to the source and weed out all the inconsistencies in the facts.

On one hand he had killed his own wife, the Emperor himself had told him. However over the years Vader had come to understand his master a great deal. Palpatine had a knack for twisting the facts and distorting the truth to fit his own agenda, it is possible he could have lied about Padme's death, however her light no longer shone in the Force.

He knew his master was cruel at times, often he was down right sadistic with what spewed out of his mouth. If lying and twisting the truth were a form of art, then the Emperor was a master of it.

But how could this boy be a Skywalker, it was possible his parents were admirers of Anakin Skywalker during the clone wars and named their son after him. However that seemed unlikely. Vader needed more information, and he needed it now! He spun around on his heel and strode towards the latest in a long line of incompetent admirals to disgrace the bridge of his flagship.

"Admiral Tromel, I require all information on the rebel that destroyed the Death Star!" Before the admiral could open his mouth and spout out endless nonsense the Sith Lord raised his hand to silence him. "The rebel in question goes by the name Luke Skywalker. I expect a full report within three hours!"

And with that he left.

* * *

Vader sat in his hyperbaric chamber in a state of deep meditation. He'd woven and gathered himself within the essence of the darkside, hoping it would highten his senses and allow him to see past the lies and witness the pure unadultared truth behind this so called '_Luke Skywalker_'. He was nearing the pinnacle of his medatation when there was a sudden beeping noise coming from his door-chime that rudely pulled him away from the Force. Vader let out a weary breath and allowed his seething anger to engulf him. 

After he'd reattached his mask and helmet he opened his chamber and allowed the announcer of said door-chime to enter so he could face his death sentence. The admiral entered, saluted, handed over a datapad, grasped his throat as his eyes widened in terror and then collapsed to the ground dead. Vader called in the admiral's assistant who he could sense waiting outside, obviously too terrified to willingly enter Vader's personal chambers, good.

"Have someone come and clean up this mess, and be sure to inform the admiral's replacement that when I say three hours I mean three hours, not two and a half." With that Vader closed the lid on the hyperbaric chamber, sealing himself inside once again. A sure sign of dismissal for the utterly horror stricken assistant.

The Sith Lord once again removed his mask and helmet and began reading the information on the databad.

_Intelligence Report - Subject - Luke Skywalker._

Vader frowned, there was barely anything in the report. Usually a single person, no matter how pathetic could fill a bio-sheet of at least fifty pages. This was unusual.

_Race: Human_

_Age: 19_

_Birth Mother: Unknown_

_Birth Father: Unknown_

_Homeworld: Tatooine_

Now _that_ shocked Vader. It had been years since Vader had felt anything close to being shocked. The last time was when the Emperor had told him Padme was dead, it didn't last long however it soon gave way to disbelief, pain and anger. However now it was pure shock, nothing else. After about ten minutes his shock soon gave way to annoyance. It just had to be _that_ planet, that floating ball of sand. If ever there was planet that needed to be blown to atoms by the Death Star, that was the one!

However this didn't help his theory that it was a coincidence, even if he didn't believe in them it was better than knowing that a possible son of his was a rebel, and that he'd almost blown him out into the vacuum of space. Now _that_ gave way to a completely new emotion that he hadn't felt in almost twenty-five years, fear. Fear that he had almost killed his own son. _Sithspit!_ He couldn't allow himself to suffer from such a weakness as fear, he wasn't even sure if this person was his son or some extremely distant relation that managed to slip through offical records.

Great. Vader now had a headache. This was probalby what parenthood was all about, one giant headache. He wasn't even sure he had a child and he already had one, he couldn't help but feel absolute pitty for all parents in the galaxy. Their nerves must obviously be made out of the toughest material to be able to put up with parenthood for _years_ on end. That or they were all insane.

There was nothing else to do but read onwards.

_Last known residence: Unknown moisture farm, several miles from Mos Aisley._

_Guardians: Owen & Beru Lars (deceased)_

_Date of deaths listed under Lars: Owen, Beru._

_Date left Tatooine: Unknown. Believed to be same day as death of guardians._

Vader had to backtrack one item on that list. Owen and Beru Lars. He'd only met them once but it was at a time he'd never forget. He remembered them clearly, but he'd had no reason to call upon any memory of them until this moment. It was becoming all too clear now, Obi-Wan had been onboad the same freighter captured by the Death Star that had been reported to have escaped Tattoine, obviously Luke had been with him.

A vague memory of the day he'd killed Obi-Wan came to him, there'd been a ruckus in the landing bay shortly after he'd dispatched the old fool. Before the Millenium Falcon had escaped he'd seen a boy, no older than twenty shooting at the controls to the door that seperated him from the landing bay. Had that been Luke? Had he been so close to the boy, yet still so far to lose him again? That headache of his was slowly but surely increasing.

There was no doubt in Vader's mind now, the boy was his son, he didn't need any genetic screening or genomic comparison. The force was now telling him it was the truth and that was all Vader needed to believe it.

He placed the datapad down, donned his mask and helmet again and set out once more into the brutal galaxy waiting for him. But now he had a son to find. His plans for overthrowing the Emperor were not as dead as he onced believed, with Luke by his side they would destroy his master and together they would rule the galaxy as Father and Son.


End file.
